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Black licorice was supposed to be unleaded

Posted on September 10th, 2008 – 12:13 PM
By James Shiffer

If you bought a bag of Lucky Country Aussie Style Soft Gourmet Licorice Black (All Natural), don’t eat any of it, according to a recall notice issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The licorice has unsafe levels of lead, according to testing by the FDA and the state of California. The recall affects Minnesota and 15 other states. When a manufacturer recalls a product, it’s typically noted on its web site. But in the case of Lucky Country, which is based in Australia and has a factory in Lincolnton, N.C., the web site carried no mention Wednesday morning about the lead in its candy - but it does note that the candy’s success is due to its “unique softness and freshness.”

A news release from the California Department of Public Health noted that its testing found 0.15 parts per million of lead in the candy. Any candy that’s found to have above 0.10 ppm of lead is considered contaminated under California’s standards.

According to the FDA release, “Consumers with questions may contact the company at customerservice@lucky-country.com, or 828 428-8313 during business hours.”

luckycountry.jpg

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 12:13 pm and is filed under Dangerous products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

8 Responses to “Black licorice was supposed to be unleaded”

  1. Doan0401 Says:
    September 10th, 2008 at 1:21 pm

    Not to down play the concern for contaminated candy but just to play devils advocate for a second… I’ve worked in regulations before and just wanted to mention one thing that may ease a little concern. California regulations are typically more tight and stringent than that of other states. I haven’t dealt with food regulations in quite awhile but things could of changed. Regardless, lead in food doesn’t sounds to pleasant to me.

  2. James Shiffer Says:
    September 10th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    I tend to think most folks wouldn’t buy candy if lead was listed as one of the ingredients. It doesn’t surprise that California is aggressive on this issue, given the Orange County Register’s investigation of lead in imported Mexican candy. Read the series at http://www.ocregister.com/investigations/2004/lead/index.php

  3. Rain Says:
    September 10th, 2008 at 10:29 pm

    I ate a bag of that candy this past July! It would be nice to know how the lead can affect me!

  4. Squirrel Says:
    September 13th, 2008 at 2:31 am

    Rain, over time, you will become forgetful, quit reading books, and believe everything you see in the newspapers and on TV.

  5. Sara Says:
    September 15th, 2008 at 9:14 am

    What benefit does lead have in CANDY????

  6. drhaas Says:
    September 16th, 2008 at 4:25 pm

    funny - stores in the skyway are still selling bags of this stuff.

  7. ed Says:
    September 17th, 2008 at 7:23 am

    So great they labeled it all natural, i feel better now ! - - and like our wonderful politicians, technically they didn’t lie - ingest enough lead, you’ll just die naturally…:)

  8. ed Says:
    September 17th, 2008 at 7:25 am

    it says my ‘contribution’ guess they havent read my mess:)
    is awaiting moderation?
    i guess they only print the ones that meet their agenda. kinda like the red star in prussia
    moderation? communists at work in mpls…
    another reason i canceled my subscription….

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